This invention relates generally to exercise equipment, and more particularly to a method and apparatus enabling hands-free weight lifting exercise of several specific muscle groups in isolation, specifically muscles in the chest, shoulders, and back.
Weight lifting exercises targeting the upper body often rely on a user's hands to provide the connection between the body and the weight or resistance machine. Consequently, hand injuries usually require the injured person to suspend weight-lifting exercise while the injuries heal. In cases where the hand injury is permanent, the person may be forced to abandon certain weight lifting exercises requiring use of the hands altogether.
Other weight lifting exercises exist to isolate individual muscles or specific groups of muscle enabling targeted development of the muscle. The objective of such specific exercise is often related to body building with the goal of maximizing individual muscle definition. Many upper body exercises in which the hands provide the human-machine connection provide only limited muscle isolation capability; arm movement typically involves many muscles in the arms, chest, and back.
It would be advantageous to have an apparatus and a method for using the apparatus that would allow a user hand-free interaction with weights or a weight-resistance machine in a manner enabling continuation of an upper body exercise regime. Additional advantages would be derived from the above apparatus if it could be conveniently used by any user in weight lifting exercise, regardless of any hand infirmity that might exist.